Is What We Talked About Today 'News'?

David Letterman tells his story during a taping of his late-night show, on Oct. 1, that he had sexual relationships with female employees and that someone tried to extort $2 million from him over the affairs. A CBS employee has been charged with attempted grand larceny in the case.
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I can see why it might not be to some people.

We started by talking about office relationships and the conversations that are sparked by the disclosure that late night television comic David Letterman had, by his own admission, a number of relationships with women at his job. It's true the disclosure came out in a particularly ugly way — allegedly the current boyfriend of one of his past flames discovered her diary and decided to blackmail him with it — and there's a lot we don't know. (How many? When? ... The nature of the relationships? Were they all before he was married? Or if Letterman was not yet married, were they before or after his son was born?)

BUT HAVING SAID ALL THAT. It's an attention getting story and it's mundane, and quite common. Work is where a lot of people meet and get together. But should they?

Why? Because it hits us where we really live. It's about real things that we really just contend.

We would like to have followed up on the story of Derrion Albert, the Chicago youth who was killed in a street fight over a week ago, but we were unable to secure the guests we wanted. Stay tuned on that; there is surely more to talk about.

I am going to run because we have to get ready for a visit from MeShell Ndegecello. She and her band are coming in shortly. They are touring in support of her new album, Devil's Halo. I am excited.

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"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of Tell Me More, a Monday-Friday talk show with host Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think. Are you looking for a story you heard on air? They're all available on our program page.